County grants barely pay bills for struggling businesses

Funding program aims to help merchants survive Silver Spring developments

To make up for losses business owners say are linked to a Silver Spring development, some merchants are turning to the county for help in paying their bills.

Both Mayorga and Moorenko’s applied within the last year because of problems that arose from the JBG Companies’ construction of the Silver Spring Gateway, a six-acre mixed-use project on East West Highway with plans for more than 20,000 square feet of retail and more than 450 apartments, and a parking garage, expected to be completed next spring.

When work on the project began, Blair Mill Road, which allowed traffic to cut through Georgia Avenue to East West Highway, was closed to allow for construction. A parking lot also was removed.

A lack of convenient parking and a less accessible route for customers venturing out to those businesses has significantly affected sales, the owners said.

‘‘It’s made it virtually impossible for me to stay open, because my payroll is greater than my revenues right now,” said Susan Soorenko, the owner of Moorenko’s. The ice cream parlor has another location in McLean, Va., which Soorenko said was doing just fine.

JBG has instituted several measures to help compensate for the construction, including offering valet parking for businesses that have been affected, said Pete Jervey, a project manager with JBG.

Soorenko said the valet was a nice gesture, but was rarely used by people ‘‘who just want a $3 ice cream cone.”

Martin Mayorga, the owner of Mayorga Coffee Factory, agreed.

‘‘It’s weird. ... Who goes to get a latte and gives their car to valet? It’s kept us going, but coffee’s very much a convenience business,” he said.

The $20,000 in one lump sum Moorenko’s was approved for will go toward paying for the essentials, Soorenko said — the rent, payroll, utilities, and ‘‘whatever’s necessary to keep it open until such a time that customers can start coming again.”

Mayorga said while he has not yet filed all the paperwork to receive his county grant, his customer traffic has decreased by at least 40 percent since March 2006, when the developers shut down Blair Mill Road.

‘‘We literally hit a wall,” Mayorga said. ‘‘But, you have to adapt. You do whatever it takes.”

Mayorga has 11 other sites besides the Silver Spring location, and makes up to 75 percent of his profits through wholesale deals of its products.

Silver Spring has applied for and received more grant money than any other jurisdiction in Montgomery County, said Ira Benzion, a senior business development specialist with the county’s department of economic development.

Mayorga, who opened the Silver Spring coffee shop in 2003, was initially approved for a grant of $20,000, to be paid out $1,000 per month based on estimates of when the project’s parking garage was finished, Benzion said.

Funds are dispersed to businesses that have been negatively impacted in some way by a county project, Benzion said. Most file for assistance because a county project caused a significant decrease in parking, as was the case with the construction of the Germantown Community Library.

While the JBG project is not directly the result of county construction, the county’s Planning Board approved the closure of Blair Mill Road.

‘‘Sometimes we’ll try to stretch the interpretation of what was caused by the county,” Benzion said. ‘‘The assistance is not meant to be a fund that pays people back for everything they’ve lost, but to help out a little bit, help ease the pain.”

Mayorga said he was in the middle of a ‘‘cost benefit analysis” to determine whether he could recoup his losses on his own and with help from his investors.

Evan Glass, president of the South Silver Spring Neighborhood Association and a member of the Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board, said once the JBG development is completed next year, the more than 1,000 residents moving in would certainly patronize the surrounding businesses.

‘‘South Silver Spring is undergoing a major transition right now,” he said. ‘‘I’m sorry that these businesses are hurting because of the lack of parking and some of the infrastructure problems. ... But I know those businesses will be prosperous again, and they need to stick it out until then.”

Not all businesses near the development are struggling. John Landis, co-owner of Crisfield Seafood Restaurant, 8012 Georgia Ave., said the 62-year-old business was making money. And the new development would only improve their situation and that of nearby businesses.

‘‘In the time we’ve been here, we’ve seen ebbs and flows in Silver Spring. ... The more projects that get completed, the more business everyone will get,” said Landis, also president of the South Silver Spring Merchant’s Association.

Benzion said Mayorga and Moorenko’s were more affected than others because the development has made ‘‘quick, convenient business not so convenient.”

‘‘Those businesses are just trying to survive until then,” he said. ‘‘It won’t really be hopping around there until the apartments open.”